US Betting Industry Prepares for a Big Year and Bright Future

Since May of 2018, the United States gambling industry has seen some major changes. It was at that time that the United States Supreme Court decided to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), allowing each state the ability to legalize sports betting. Many states already had such laws on the books to start operations if SCOTUS struck down PASPA. Now, more than eight states have started offering sports betting services and the overall gambling industry in the US will only continue to expand this year and beyond!

New Jersey a Driving Force:

The battle to end PASPA began with New Jersey starting the fight in 2012. Events took place from that time that saw more than ten other states join in the fight to see sports betting available across the nation. The American Gaming Association also joined in on the efforts. Once SCOTUS made their ruling last May, several states were offering sports betting services by summer, including New Jersey.

Predictions post-PASPA have revealed that the United States is posed to be quite successful with sports betting operations. With data from H2GC, KeytoCasino found that before PASPA was repealed, the US was generating around $200 million in gross win from regulated sports betting. This number placed the US 7th in the world markets involving sports betting.

Now that several states offer sports betting, including New Jersey, Rhode Island, West Virginia and Mississippi, analysts have predicted that as much as $7.6 billion will be generated in gross wins by 2023. As many as 19 states are predicted to offer sports betting by this time.

By 2030, it is believed that Nevada will drop from the top spot in revenues, replaced by such states as New Jersey, New York, Michigan and California as they move ahead.

Land-based and Interactive Gaming Growth:

Since 2017, the United States has also seen growth, not only regarding sports wageringm but also an overall expansion of land-based and interactive gaming. Pennsylvania is one such state that has seen growth in several areas regarding their gambling industry. A gambling package was passed in late 2017 that would see online gambling legalized in the state, along with video gaming terminals at truck stops, mini casinos and so much more.

The US ranks first in a list of Top 30 Nations that contribute to gambling. The USA finished 2018 with a gross win of $107.99 billion based on info from H2 Gambling Capital consultancy. The next country in line is China, with $70.01 billion, much less than the United States earnings.

The majority of the money earned in 2018 in the US was from land-based gaming, at $104.82 billion. Interactive gambling is offered in the US but not at the scope of what is offered internationally. When viewing the US interactive gaming totals, the country is in 4th place overall with only $3.17 billion in earnings. The UK leads the global list with $7.54 billion.

Contributing Factors to Growth:

PASPA being overthrown in May of 2018 had a major contribution to the growth of gambling in the US. The change will only continue to affect the nation in a positive manner as more states begin to legalize and offer sports betting in land-based venues as well as online.

US online wagering plays a small role as well. Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware have offered online gaming since 2013 and Pennsylvania legalized the option in 2017, set to get started this year. Other states are considering online gambling legislation this year, including Michigan.

For now, the major contributor to growth in the gambling industry for the US is sports betting. It will be interesting to see how much is generated in revenues in 2019 as more states become involved in the industry over the next few months and into 2020 and beyond.